Google’s Android To Remain A Freebie

November 8, 2011

Google Inc.´s chief executive officer, Eric Schmidt, said on Tuesday that the company will continue to offer its Android mobile operating system for free to partner handset makers.

Schmidt was also quick to point out that the search giant´s pending purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. will not impact relations with its other manufacturing partners that rely on the Android software.

“We will run (Motorola) sufficiently independently so it will not violate the openness of Android,” Schmidt said during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea.

Google announced in August that it had plans to purchase the US manufacturer of mobile and set-top devices for $12.5 billion. Other cellphone makers using Android OS expressed concerns that the acquisition would damage their relations with Google, that the company would give offer Motorola better services.

Schmidt also criticized Microsoft´s litigation against handset makers that use Android, saying “Microsoft is not telling the truth on this issue, and they are using tactics to scare people because they are scared of the success of Android.”

Samsung Electronics, the largest maker and seller of Android-based smartphones, has taken steps to broaden its product offerings based on other software platforms. Samsung announced a deal in September to develop smartphones and tablet computers based on Microsoft´s Windows software. The electronics giant also plans to launch Bada, its own mobile OS platform, to external developers and gadget makers next year.

To protect against intellectual property claims by Microsoft that Android violates its software patents, Samsung reached a patents-sharing deal that will pay royalties to Microsoft for Samsung´s Android-based devices.

During the conference, Schmidt praised South Korea´s broadband infrastructure, saying that the country´s software developers are making progress in developing software for the Android platform. Schmidt also said Google will develop a new program for developers aimed at the local market.

Google is also looking to expand Android´s presence into televisions. Earlier this year, Samsung´s television unit CEO, B.K. Yoon, said the company is considering making Android-based TV sets.

Google joined up with Japan´s Sony Corp. and launched Internet-enabled TVs last year. But that project has been less than fruitful for the search titan.